- The new
Ather 450X Gen 3 debuted today, promising 105 KM range and other performance upgrades. Ather has been around for several years, and the company says it is only gaining from the arrival of credible competition in the last two years.- From Ather’s philosophy to safety, competition and customer demands, we caught up with
Ravneet Singh Phokela to understand how the company operates.
On the eve of the launch, BI caught up with the company’s chief business officer, Ravneet Singh
Safety concerns about electric scooters came to the fore after vehicle recalls, incidents of batteries catching fire were reported several times, spooking prospective buyers.
According to Phokela, it’s a case of “design for safety” issue – it’s about whether those electric scooters and battery modules are designed keeping the Indian conditions in mind – road, thermal and grid-wise, instead of just importing cells likely designed for better road conditions.
Phokela assured that their own reliability banks on stringent safety and design checks.
The Ather 450, originally launched in 2018, changed how people viewed electric scooters with its power and performance. For many, this was the first time they could think of an electric scooter as their daily ride.
The 450X is still a powerful ride for most people, but the growing competition post the entry of the Ola S1 Pro and new TVS iQube ST with a range of 145 KM has likely pushed Ather to update its scooter.
From a bigger battery pack that now offers a “TrueRange” of 105 KM to new ride modes and larger boot space, the Ather 450X Gen 3 is an iterative update that tries to bring the 450X into 2022 from 2020.
“The larger philosophy is that we keep updating the vehicle based either on consumer feedback or just our own development. The Gen 3 is a continuation of that philosophy,” Phokela explained, underlining that the Ather scooters also receive over-the-air updates to improve the overall product.
Apart from this, the new Gen 3 comes with a faster dashboard thanks to a RAM upgrade, the UI has also seen performance improvements, so things like maps and documents load faster.
Range anxiety is an issue that EV makers and users alike have had to deal with. Unlike ICE vehicles which can be topped up with fuel instantly, EVs take time to charge, and the charging infrastructure is still a work in progress.
For now, offering buyers as much range as possible is the closest EV makers can get to addressing range anxiety. According to Phokela, the 100 KM number is “psychologically important”. It’s also a 24% improvement over the second-gen model.
While electric scooters have been present in India for a long time, quality electric scooters have only come around in the last few years. And that is what is important, says Phokela.
He believes that it’s quite premature to worry about competition.
“It’s best to keep the competition in the peripheral vision and the customer in the primary one,” said Phokela, stating that Ather’s philosophy in this regard is “not going to change”. Instead, the new entrants have had a positive impact on Ather’s sales, according to him.
The Ather 450X Gen 3 is priced at ₹1,39,007 in New Delhi (ex-showroom), while its competitor, the Ola S1 Pro is priced at ₹1,39,999 after a price hike of ₹10,000 recently.
Phokela says that Ather buyers are willing to pay a premium for better quality and features – he revealed that 85% of the buyers go for the top-end 450X instead of the cheaper 450 Plus.
However, he added that more affordable Ather scooters would be launched later as the company looks to expand its portfolio and presence.
SEE ALSO:
IT biggies spent 62% of revenues on wages in FY22, salary bill at ₹3 lakh crore
Rupee at 80: Here’s how a falling Rupee could impact India's current account deficit
I used Ola S1 Pro for a few weeks and while my feet flirted with air, I had fun during my grocery runs